Saturday, June 09, 2007

By John CheeranMarxists in Kerala say lighting of traditional lamps (nilavilakku) is a Hindu ritual and should not be used to inaugurate public functions, be it a jewellery shop or college union function.I recall my student days when the Student Federation of India (SFI) used to fuss over the non-secular aspect of nilavilakku.Obviously Muslim fundamentalists in Kerala, nurtured by petro dollar from the Middle East, championed such a stand taken by secular Marxists.Now I’m amazed to see some pictures from Dubai. Picture shows Joy Alukkas’ latest jewellery showroom being inaugurated by Jassem Mohammad Ebrahim Al Hasawi, a prominent Muslim in Dubai society, by lighting the nilavilakku. Ah, isn’t it sacrilege for a Muslim to perform a Hindu ritual?Should Muslims buy jewellery from a shop that has been opened by performing a Hindu ritual?I’m sure these questions should agitate the Kerala’s Muslim fundamentalists.May be, a fatwa on the subject is coming our way. Till such time secularists should put aside their gold hunt.

1 comment:

Anonymous
said...

dear friend, Jassem Mohammad Ebrahim Al Hasawi is a muslim leader agreed but in Dubai this "nilavilakku" is not a sign of Hindus... he thinking it is the way of inagurating in Kerala.Do you think he knows it's a religious thing.... ofcourse no.don't make foolish discussions without sence....

About Me

John Cheeran is an engineer-turned-journalist and has worked in such diverse media as Print, Internet and Radio. Cheeran has an abiding interest in cricket and its politics, and in politics in general.
Cheeran quit an Indian arm of the US-based global giants General Electric in 1994 to join Asian College of Journalism. He then went on to write on sports, and mainly on cricket, for newspapers such as The Indian Express, The Asian Age, The Pioneer and www.timesofindia.com in India. Cheeran also had a seven-year stint with Gulf News in Dubai.
He also wrote regularly for regional publications including Malayala Manorama and Deshabhimani during his student days.
During his career, Cheeran has reported a string of national and international tournaments including the 1999 Cricket World Cup held in England, the annual Dubai Desert Classic Golf Championship and Dubai Tennis Championship in Dubai, the ICC Champions Trophy in Dhaka, the Independence Cup Cricket Championship in India, Asian Test Championship and a number of Davis Cup ties in India. Now, Cheeran is an adjunct faculty at Online Media Centre in Chennai.